This invention relates to spray heads or nozzle assemblies for airless spray guns, or the like, and is more particularly concerned with improvements in spray tip mountings which facilitate cleaning and replacement of the spray tip and associated elements and which minimize the risk of possible damage to the tip mounting as a result of operation under pressure.
Spray heads have heretofore been employed in which a tip member for controlling the spray pattern is mounted in a holder which is in turn rotatably mounted in a chamber at the discharge end of the bore in a barrel-like nozzle body, or housing, with associated means for manually turning the tip holder to a position to reverse the direction of the flow of the product or other fluid through the spray tip for cleaning or for clearing a jammed passageway in the spray tip. In some previous designs provision has been made for turning the tip holder to a predetermined position which will permit removal and replacement of the tip through an auxiliary opening in the chamber wall. In previously developed arrangements it has been found that excessive pressure can and does occur, particularly when pluggage of the tip occurs or the holder is moved to a position which blocks the flow of the product, with the results that damage often occurs to the holder and/or associated parts such as the sealing elements.